18

Kaylin

Quiet! I need quiet.

There are too many thoughts on the wind tonight. They needle my mind, but I won’t block them. Not when there’s a chance one might be Ash’s. It’s a risk, leaving myself open with nothing but a wooden hull between me and the sea. There’s not much any Mar wouldn’t give to know where I am. That tidbit would assure the Sea King’s good graces for a fair time to come. The Sea King with whom I was meant to check in with again before now. I need to seek Teern out myself, to make things right, but it would mean abandoning my companions. More to the point, it would mean abandoning Ash, and I won’t do that to my lass. I look skyward at the stars winking between the masts. Surely, I can’t be in that much trouble with Father, could I?

“Ash? Can you hear me?”

I keep trying, keep listening, and still no answer comes. It has me uncertain. What if I have it wrong about Ash? What if she can hear me but chooses not to answer?

I give myself a mental slap. Come on! Think it through. Doubting Ash? That’s b’larkin absurd. She’d say it that way herself. I just wish I could actually hear her say it. In my mind. It would be such a relief. Our vocal conversations aren’t the same.

But can I blame her holding back? I vanished when we reached Baiseen, virtually without a word of explanation. Gone to track Tann? It was only partly true. I couldn’t exactly say that Teern had found me, since I had yet to tell her the truth of who I am. Teern had called. I answered. It wasn’t something I could avoid. Will she ever understand? Will my explanations make matters worse?

I climb the mast to the crow’s nest to be alone with my thoughts.

“I’ll give you a thought, brother.” Salila’s voice jars through my head. “Teern blames you for just about everything these days.”

The mast sways in widening arcs as I swing over the railing and stand on the small platform. So much for being alone. “Hello Salila.” I lock my inner thoughts down tight. “Come to gloat?”

I was not expecting to see my sister here so soon.

That’s not sister in the landers’ sense of the word—related by blood—but only in the way that all Mar are connected through the Ma’ata. She stands in the center of the crow’s nest, her long honey hair dripping down past her hips. Her skin is so fair it glows a pale blue in the night and her limbs rest at ease, lean and graceful. Her face, the one that melts landers’ hearts, men and women alike, is curious, almost teasing, until her green eyes darken. “Surprisingly, not to gloat.” She glances below and smiles, the whimsical look reappearing for an instant. Then her features smooth out. “I came to warn you about something.”

“Don’t tell me. Teern wants to chat?”

She outright laughs. “Not as much as he wants to skin you alive.”

“And you think to hand me over?”

“Oh Kaylin.” Her look is pity mixed with I-told-you-so. “You are incredibly naive sometimes.”

I growl in the back of my throat. “Stop talking in riddles and say what you came to say.”

She blows out a breath. “Have you forgotten you were chest-deep in the sea just hours ago? Be sure Teern knows exactly where you are, and more importantly, who you are with.”

Damn the bones. I had hoped to avoid detection, at least for a little while longer. He did release me to perform a task, just not the one I am currently performing.

“The next time you dip a toe, he’ll pull you down and stuff you under a rock. I doubt you’ll see the suns for a very long time to come.” She examines her fingernails, testing for sharpness.

I ignore the theatrics. “It’s good you’re here, Salila. I need you to deliver a message.”

She picks her tooth with the longest nail. “I’m listening.”

“Tell Teern I’ll see him at sunrise, off the west coast of Nonnova.” It’s a risk, especially if he is as perturbed as she makes him out to be.

Well, what did I expect? I disobeyed him, again.

She tsks. “Will do, brother, but meanwhile, you best pay closer attention to your charges.” Her eyes go to the deck below.

I follow her gaze. Ash climbs up the hatch and makes her way across the deck toward Marcus and Rowten who welcome her cheerily. “Why’s that?”

“Trouble’s brewing.” Salila blows me a kiss and leaps to the railing. “Ta-ta, little brother, or should I say, chop-chop.” She swan dives and disappears into the sea without another word.